Claremont Confederacy
The Claremont Confederacy is the third most powerful Earth Terragen originating Star Nation in the Galactic Coalition and is considered probably the most honorable of the big three Theban Cluster and the UNSF being the other two. The first long distance colonization fleet left Earth in 2142 aboard a huge vessel named the SS Claremont. The reason for the vessels humongous size out at over 25 kilometers in length was due to the fact that it carried over a 1,000,000 colonists and everything they would need to colonize the system that had been dubbed Claremont 348257. The system was one of over 400,000 systems identified by the Claremont Astronomical Plotting & Long Term Colonization Institute built on the outskirts of Macon Georgia on old Earth. The Claremont institute was in control of over two dozen Hubble style space telescopes as well as hundreds of probes capable of just above .1c. Of the 400,000+ systems, that the Institute researched and identified 348257 was the only one that showed the possibility of extremely quick colonization. It was not until the advent of hyperspace travel and the Fulcturm Hyperspace Scope that many of the other systems were more clearly plotted. The Institute with funds from the U.S. Government and dozens of multi-national U.S. based corporations started a twenty-five year project to build a long-range colony vessel that could hold a sufficient amount of genetic diversity and the supplies needed to colonize the far-off star system. The vessel was completed in 2137, it took another five years to finalize the cargo, and colonists and the vessel launched on March 3rd 2142. All communication was lost with the ships automated systems in 2213 and the vessel was not heard from again until 2597 when the vessel landed on Claremont IV and its passengers were awakened from cryogenic sleep. Although the U.S. later the UEF and then the UNSF thought the far-off colony would be loyal to them, it soon declared its independence and established the Claremont Confederacy. The original colonists from Earth came from the region of the U.S. known as the Deep South Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana, and a smattering of other states including a large chunk from Texas. The colonists could be characterized by the term Redneck a derisive term used during the mid and later 20th century through the end of the 22nd century. The colonists were very independent and not afraid to show it with their cessation from the U.S. UEF/UNSF and founding of their own form of government not like the Earth government could do much about it either considering extreme long range hyperspace travel was still in it’s infancy. The UNSF wrote the whole thing off as bad idea and really did not care that much considering the project had been funded by a long defunct government and several companies that were no longer even in business. Even though the Claremont Confederacy has gone through several Pan-Galactic Wars with damage to several of its major systems itself, Sultan, and Forestall, it is still a strong and independent star nation with much pride. The Claremont Confederacy’s citizenry consists of over 90% earth stock Terragen, with another 8% non-earth stock Terragen and 1% non-Terragen. Like most other humans Claremont citizens have great energy and ambition and even with the Telomere Enhancement Treatment extending their lives to almost three quarters of a millennia they still strive to move forward, create, expand, and when it can’t be done easily they fight to do it. As with other humans, they are able to adapt easily to new situations and views. The Confederacy is probably has the least stratified of social classes of any known Star Nation; of course this could be due to the fact that the majority of the original settlers were from the deep south on earth and all the problems that occurred there in centuries past. Families are a very important factor in the day-to-day life of most Confederacy citizens. Huge sprawling clans are not uncommon and even in the largest cities it is not hard to find a HAB-tower that is almost completely related to one another if only loosely or by marriage. One of the Claremontians deepest convictions is that family is one of the most important thins in a person’s life and that it is what shapes a persons life even to the point where an entire family may be involved in the same line of work, the same military service, or working together in the same business. It is not odd to find several generations of a family living in the same residence and even some have aunts, uncles, and cousins living together. If a person visited a Confederacy planet on a Sunday, they would probably say that Religion is one of the most important things to the Claremontians. This is close but not entirely true, while large majorities of the Claremontians profess to Southern Baptism; there is also a smattering of other religions the second largest ones are Episcopalian and Judaism. The Confederacy’s main language is English unlike most Earth based human dominated space that now uses Modern Theban. However, Modern Theban is used more as a trade language with a few patois languages such as Creole being used as well. '''Performance Entertainment - '''The average Claremont citizen enjoys a wide variety of musical and performing arts entertainment; chief amongst these being rodeos, dancing, and musical concerts. Rodeos - Probably one of the widest and largest entertainments in the Claremont Confederacy the rodeo contains a wide variety of things, these include bull riding, bronco busting, roping competitions, and many other things. Dancing - Whether it is line or square dancing or musicals the Claremontians enjoy an artful dance performance. Musical Concerts - The most enjoyed music types in the confederacy are Jazz, Blue Grass, Country, and Classic rock usually with lots of little bits such as fireworks and other types of performances during the concert. '''Competitive Sports - '''The three major sports in the known galaxy are GAVRA, GRAV-Disc, and Laser Jet Ball. GAVRA - The Galactic Anti-Vehicle Racing Association is the most popular sport in the Confederacy with businesses scheduling vacations and in nation races around the holidays. GRAV-Disc - Is probably the least popular sport in the Confederacy and not because of its violence but more because it’s the newest of all the competitive sports only being about 250 years or so old. Laser Jet Ball - Is the second most popular of sports in the Confederacy with lots of violence and the like. Gambling - Gambling is fully legal in the Claremont Confederacy there is only one draw back it has to be done over open water so river boats styled in the old fashion or cruise ships ply the water ways for those willing to part with their funds. The two main forms of art are Victorian style oil painting as portraits but artists also do scenery and landscapes and the use of black wrought iron. Oil Painting - This type of painting became popular in the Claremont Confederacy in no small part due to the efforts of the Claremont Preservation society over 1100 years ago when they started depicting historical scenes with oil paintings rather than 2D or 3D holographic representations. Now in the Confederacy it is traditional for a family to have oil paintings done during milestone occasions. Wrought Iron - This form of art was started when one of the original colonists wanted to make his home more rustic and investigated different styles of decorations for homes and found articles on Wrought Iron, researching it further he started dabbling on his own. During the process, he involved others, they created some of the most beautiful wrought iron work created, and most homes have heavy wrought iron influences. Technology wise the Confederacy is only a few steps below that of the Theban Cluster but a step up from the UNSF and while they do not have as much automated equipment in their homes and businesses, they do have it where it really counts mainly in their shipyards and farms. However their technology does not stop there while they do not believe in using HAB-towers except in the most densely populated cities they prefer sprawling plantation and colonial style dwellings surrounding by huge tracts of farmland tended by automated farming equipment. While the Confederacy does have major cities with huge HAB-towers, skyscrapers, spaceports, and orbital elevators their designs tend to run more rustic than modernistic when it comes to architecture. While a HAB-tower may have the same black glass as one found on a Theban Cluster world but instead of the black metal framework it may be styled to mimic either brick or white-washed wood. In addition, their cities tend to be greener with more parks and planter sections on the sidewalks. Outside of the cities, however people prefer sprawling white-washed and wrought iron decorated plantation style homes with numerous small out buildings for whatever purposes. The Confederacy has a laid-back attitude towards magic with the most prolific types being the school of Earth since farming is such an essential part of their lifestyle. Confederacy citizens have a very laid-back attitude towards Espers and have one of the largest populations of Esper Guild members in the galaxy with the majority being Aero, Hydro, and Terromancers once again due to the fact that farming is such an integral part of their lifestyle. The Claremont Confederacy includes approximately 25,600 systems with over 250,000 planets does not include moons and the likes. The following is a list of some of the best-known systems - The Claremont Confederacy has two branches of military the Navy and the Marine Corps. The following section will describe both these branches. The Confederacy Navy follows the same basic pattern as that of the Theban Cluster Fleet with a single fleet for every 1,000 systems in the star nation they currently have 256 active duty fleets although not all fleets are currently up to strength. The CN consists of Support personnel that staff the stations and build the ships as well as the logistics fleets, training and reserve personnel, and battle fleet personnel. Uniforms of the CN consists solely of Mono-Film Duty Suits, save for dress uniforms there are no other kinds are very ornate items which date back to 1860‘s of old Earth‘s United States and are a buff gray color with yellow trim. The CN’s insignia is a round patch with a black old Earth Style Iron Clad with smoke coming out of its stack on a field of blue with a black border around the patch with Claremont Confederacy Navy in gold letters circling the patch. Rank and insignia patches are made of mono-film as well and have a molecular/magnetic adhesive that allows them to be emplaced and removed with ease they do not come off during strenuous activity. The main uniform of the Confederacy is a charcoal gray mono-film duty suit that has a retractable full-face hood and gloves and the feet have rubberized soles; the stripes running down the arms is gold. The suit has a wide stripe running from the bottom of the collar to the cuff stripe on the outside of the arms and shoulders; this is considered the primary stripe, there is also a stripe running from the interior cuff stripe of the arm, down the sides and all the way to the outside toe of the suit and another stripe running from just below the knee and on the inner thighs and over the groin area [these two stripes are considered the secondary stripe.